1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a construction material and a process for making the same, and in particular, a construction material wherein rubber particles having a cement coating bonded thereto are mixed with cement to form a cement and aggregate mixture which will produce a light weight concrete having a certain degree of resiliency.
2. Prior Art
There is a great need for finding uses for articles which have been discarded or have outlived their usefulness in the marketplace. In particular, there is a need for finding uses for waste rubber from articles such as rubber tires and similar products. Processes have been developed for reclaiming rubber in which the reclaimed rubber is used for the production of hard rubber products. One such process is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,809,499.
Moreover, in the construction industry, there is a great demand for a light weight resilient concrete material. Presently, in light weight concrete exploded shale is used as a filler, however, because of the depleting supplies of shale, the cost of this filler is increasing, resulting in a corresponding rise in the cost of concrete. In addition, concrete and light weight concrete using shale as a filler are quite brittle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,263,914 there is disclosed a construction material utilizing pulverized rubber in the cement mixture to produce a material which is light weight and which has water proofing and insulating properties. Waste rubber, which can be in the form of a dust, is mixed with the cement. Water is then added to the mixture in an amount to cause the mixture to set. A water proofing agent and various fillers may be added to the rubber-cement mixture. One of the problems with this rubber cement mixture is that there is the possibility that no bond or little bond will develop between the rubber particles and the cement surrounding it after the mixture has set. Therefore, the concrete will now have sufficient strength or resiliency.
It is toward elimination of these and other problems that the present invention is directed.